Limits on property tax growth pay dividends

Sep. 14, 2013

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| Post-Crescent Media

Bigger perspective on public spendingYour property taxes are spent on police and fire services, education, utilities, public works, parks and recreation, a judicial system, economic development and more, and you deserve to know how that money is used. Each Sunday, The Post-Crescent examines a slice of that spending: where taxes go, what they buy, and, as often as possible, how the spending compares with similar expenditures elsewhere in Wisconsin. If you have a suggestion for our Public Spending Desk, contact Editor/Local Enterprise Andy Thompson at athompson@postcrescent.com or 920-993-1000, ext. 257.

On the WebTo view the report on property taxes by the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance, log on to www.wistax.org.

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State-imposed limits on property taxes are having the desired effect, according to the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance.

WTA, a Madison-based organization that focuses on public policy research, indicated in a report last month that with tighter property tax limits in place for the second consecutive year, total property tax levies in Wisconsin increased by 0.8 percent to $10.47 billion in 2012-13.

Taking into account last year’s increase of 0.2 percent, it was the first time since at least 1946 that levies rose by less than 1 percent in consecutive years, the WTA said.

Under rules imposed by the state, municipal property taxes were allowed to increase at the greater rate of net new construction or 0 percent in both 2012 and 2013.

• On the lower end, municipal levies fell just under 1 percent in Appleton and Neenah.

• County property taxes increased by 0.7 percent to to $1.99 billion, following a 1.1 percent increase last year. Levy changes ranged from minus-2 percent to plus-2 percent in 62 of the 72 counties. The largest increases were in Chippewa (4.9 percent) and Kewaunee (4.1 percent).

• The state’s 424 school districts for K-12 students levied $4.66 billion in property taxes in 2013 — an increase of 0.2 percent from 2012. The WTA said the “modest increase” was due largely to a $50 per student increase in state-mandated revenue limits.

• Tax changes varied by district, due to the effects of the school aid formula and to new, or expiring, referendums. Thirteen districts increased property taxes by more than 10 percent. Another 13 reduced levies by more than 10 percent.

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• Among the five major users of the property tax, the state’s 16 technical college districts increased levies the most: 2 percent in 2013. North Central (Wausau) cut its levy by 2.3 percent, while southwest Wisconsin (Fennimore) reduced its levy by 0.8 percent. Eight technical college districts left their levies unchanged from 2012 or increased them by less than 1 percent.

• The biggest users of the property tax are K-12 schools. In 2013, 44 percent of the total levy went to schools. Municipalities (27 percent) were the second-largest users.

• For the average taxpayer, taxes levied by the school district and municipality accounted for more than 70 percent of the tax bill — a share that has been “fairly stable” for the past 15 years, the WTA reported. The state’s 72 counties levied 19 percent of statewide property taxes, technical colleges levied 8 percent of the property taxes, and special districts and a state forestry tax each accounted for about 1 percent of the total.